what I wish were my second career....

You know, I think I need to take a trip to NY sometime really soon and sit down with the writers. The following sketches need *my* input:

• Weekend Update: As much as I love the segment, some of the "guests" are NOT FUNNY.
• ANY Character who is defined as "funny" because he or she talks funny. That's NOT FUNNY.
• Don't burst into song. Just don't.
• Get rid of Deep House Dish. Find another way to make fun of youth and pop culture. Please see rule about singing.
• Don't use the same pop culture icon more than once. Facebook as a verb ONE TIME is enough in one show.
  

When a show is 90 minutes long with commercials but only 40 minutes on its own, you really need to PAY ATTENTION, writers! We DVR viewers can count.

in SEPTEMBER?!

Okay, so I had a visitor on Thursday. One of the head counselors in the guidance office with a student. It was second hour. He's now in my first hour class. SURPRISE! :)

Luckily, this kid took french in middle school, so he should be on track. He's going to take the class's test as a diagnostic.

He seems like a nice kid. But he has one of those scary chin piercings. It doesnt make HIM scary. Like i said, nice kid. I just dont understand that trend. Oh well, so far so good.

I gave French 2 their first exams. no one failed.

I was generous.

I should be asleep.

But I'm not. For several reasons.

I talked to one of my sisters tonight, and I was planning on hanging with her and her husband over then weekend while I help them paint the nursery. After all, she ASKED me to help her with this a month or so ago (and it was for this month or next, so its not like theyve been waiting for me to roll out or something). She told me that he was planning on asking a friend of his to help and that dad was also hoping to come by and help if he can get out of saturday overtime. It's a little room I reminded her, but she reminded ME that theres also the ceiling, etc.

THEN, before i head into my bedroom tonight, I get an email from said sister, and she says that the "weekend plans have changed. bill wants to paint the room himself." Thats it. WTF? I honestly dont know if bill is doing some kind of daddy nesting thing or they just dont want me cramping their style, but whatevs. ill just get some quality work done for the follwing week. i hope.

I hate that I get so irritated about stuff like that. i dont know if i subconscously suspect some underlying meaning or what.

Also, I think I'm awake because I had 3 Dr Peppers tonight. Oooops.

hope for the single teacher?

Ugh, I had the WEIRDEST dream last night, and I'm not even going to get into it. But if made me think about my social life. I don't really have one because I'm working just about all the time.

I have no clue how to meet anyone in the area because it feels as if everyone I know is married. So maybe over xmas break or just before ill give the online thing a try. If anyone knows decent sites, let me know. Because I'm NOT doing any speed dating. I did consider "Its just Lunch" ... but i dont think i could actually MAKE the lunch.

...

Okay, seriously, I just went on the website. I signed up, soooo we'll see what happens! They do drinks after work if scheduling is a nightmare. We'll see, I say!

I'm Amanda.... Ms McCoy if you're (fourteen)

I have been having some big big days. I have a bigger day ahead of me next week: the principal's observing me! Eeeks! Let's hope my kiddies are as good as they usually are.

So on Friday I was getting my classroom ready. My door was open and kids were starting to bring their books (and selves) into the room. Then I see a girl wearing daisy duke style shorts. Dangit. So I ask her to hop in my room real quick, and she comes on in, and I discreetly ask her if she has another pair of bottoms to wear. And she says no.... So I tell her we need to take a little walk down to the Student Affairs Office. So I have to close my door because my students have left (and I have a laptop and have to keep my room secure...), and I walk all the way there with her to make sure she goes. She was really cooperative, and her friends walked with her. I think one of her friends needed to go in there too, but I didnt want to be a TOTAL bia.

Then, during my upperclassmen class (French 345), I had to lay the smack down on a student, too. He has a hard time doing the material, so he cops out and just reads a book. I asked him AGAIN to put away his book, and he lets out this huge dramatic sigh AGAIN. So I ask him to step into the hallway with me. We spend about FIVE minutes talking about this issue, and I hope that I properly communicated to him that it's necessary to make an effort, follow along, and GET SOME HELP. Because my class frustrates him to no end. But we walked back in and he got his French materials out and followed along. At the end, there was some time, so he got some help from me. I was really happy about that.

Okay, I have to get back to work so I can have the week broadly planned.

The Small Details matter.

Okay, so this is another teaching post. Sue me :)

I have students from all backgrounds. I have students getting C-'s and a couple students getting 100%. I have students who have to take time off from school because of anxiety. I have a student who cuts herself. I have a student who already knows she's going pre-med. And she's a freshman.

One of the students above was tardy in late august. Students are requires to fill in a tardy referral form, and once they've had three unexcused tardies, they have to serve a detention. Well, this student was tardy on the 10th, so i set her form aside to call her mom that afternoon. she was tardy for a third time on the 11th, so when i called her parents, i had to say that she was going to have a 45 minute detention.

She was late again today. She was obviously flustered. So I just kind of let her cool off while I took care of business for the day. When I went around to check the homework, I asked her to see me at the end of class. By the time 50 minutes had rolled around, she had calmed down and accepted the fact that the detention was a consequence of her lateness and nothing mean or specified just at her. I made a small decision to let something wait to settle (BUT still deal with it, of course), and it was the RIGHT decision. Thank goodness.

I want to make sure that I don't get "riled up" over a small decision that may have gone poorly.

But I'm going to anyway.

Crap I need to work on (This is more for me than my loyal readers...):
Don't ALWAYS saw what's on your mind. The kids don't need to know that, and it's just extra info that might confuse them anyway.
Get a schedule for the upper levels in the 3-4-5 class. They're getting bored. They'll stay in the class, but you don't want them to get an A without having learned anything.
Watch the New Orleans and Versailles DVDs and make worksheets to go with them.
Make a flipping sub packet!

Teaching as a theatrical art

Okay, so I was thinking about this today. I start serious preparation for the following school day at about 5:00pm (I get very little done during my prep period because I'm grabbing my mail and copies from the offices downstairs). But I start teaching at 8am. So I think of 8am as the "show" (I know I'm really teaching, don't get me wrong), and 5:00pm is my "rehearsal." It's when I make sure I have all my blocking, all my lines, all my props.

Again, I know that its not exactly theatre. Theatre would never have this much paperwork :)

The latest.

Okay, so it's been a busy day.

I had to fill about 25 minutes of my level one class. That was hard, but I think it worked okay. I just have to have more back up activity plans so the kids arent bored out of their mind!

There were club meetings today, and that was CRAZY. The club I sponsor voted on officers, and was craziness. I have to have a little talk with one of the newly elected officers because his "spiel" was like something out of a mud-slinging cartoon AGAINST the other kid running. Seriously, where do these kids come up with that. So like I said, he and I are going to have a chat and the club will re-vote during the next meeting. Anymore "negative campaigning" and he is out that door. I wish I would have said something sooner (like during the meeting) ... but I'm new and havent learnedhow to act that quickly on my feet yet...

And I made the dumb decision to go grocery shopping while STARVING. I am not the girl who needs to have cookies, pizzas, and dr pepper. but im hoping this keeps me from going to bk or taco bell every other day. And I bought some candy for incentives because there was a MAJOR sale (wa-hoo!)

I'm going to enjoy my friday night and then try to get some work done tomorrow and sunday. Work = cleaning the place AND well, grading and planning.

wow, that's a new one.

Hey all.

Yep, I'm home. At 3:50 pm. We had early dismissal today because it got pretty hot at school. tomorrow I will hopefully have little problem getting my class(es) back on track.

I have to run to Barnes and Noble because apparently the book I ordered? Didn't get ordered because I havent paid for it yet. Weird.

Man, early dismissal throws me off, even when it's expected. This is just even more so.